LOT OF ELEVEN (11) ITEMS PERTAINING TO GERMAN WORLD WAR II LUFTWAFFE STUKA PILOT AND GERMAN CROSS IN GOLD WINNER LIEUTENANT HEINZ SCHMITT
			Another equally fitting tribute to the bravery and fidelity of this exceptional young officer was his mention by name in the post war autobiography of his commanding officer at the time of his death, Oberst Hans Ulrich Rudel, who, of course, was Germany’s most highly decorated soldier in World War II. More specifically, in his book, "STUKA PILOT", Oberst Rudel identifies the loss of Lieutenant Schmitt and Lieutenant Wutka on the same day as being "a severe blow to the wing". Oberst Rudel was similarly reported in a number of private post war conversations to refer to the deaths of both these fine officer’s as being "almost irreplaceable losses".
			Item #2: OFFICIAL ADVISORY TO LIEUTENANT SCHMITT’S PARENTS
			Shown below is a photograph of the actual notice received by Lieutenant Schmitt's parents, dated 17 March 1944, from the Armed Forces Information Office in Berlin legally advising them of his death in Russia 0n 26 September 1943 while serving with his Stuka unit.
			In viewing this item, it should be noted that the address appearing in its upper left hand corner is that of the "Armed Forces Information Office for War Missing and Killed" in Berlin. Below that is a file reference number that is to be used by the deceased's next of kin in filing claims, and/or in writing any follow up correspondence
			The communication in this instance is addressed to Johann Schmitt, Lt. Schmitt's father, who, as noted in the previous discussion of the family's statement above, was himself a Major in the Luftwaffe serving in Russia at the time of his son’s death. More interesting is the document's date of 17 March 1944, which being more than six (6) full months after Lt. Schmitt's actual death on 26 September 1943, attests to the overwhelming administrative effort that was necessary in order to record and process the staggering number of dead and wounded soldier listings from the Eastern Front in the final two (2) years of the war. .
			This notice, as well as the envelope in which it was mailed, were both made with a recycled, brown rag paper that is fully consistent with late war German paper industry standards. Moreover, it is 8 1/4" inches wide by 5 3/4" inches high, with one (1) center crease, where it was apparently folded before insertion in the envelope for mailing. Roughly translated, the notice reads as follows: